Hunting: One of the Safest Outdoor Activities

Hunting: One of the Safest Outdoor Activities
by NWTF
Contrary to how it's often portrayed, hunting is one of the safest recreational activities enjoyed in the United States.

In 2004, there were 445 hunter incidents in the United States according to the International Hunter Education Association. Of these incidents, 42 were fatal and only 2 involved turkey hunting, but hunting incidents are portrayed as happening often.

There are more than 20 million hunters entering the woods every year, and they are more than 1,000 times more likely to die in an automobile accident than in a hunting incident.

"Each year, hunting incidents are played up as common events, but in reality, hunters are probably safer in the woods than they are driving to the woods," said Rob Keck, National Wild Turkey Federation CEO.

According to the National Safety Council, there were 649 unintentional deaths due to firearms in 2004, while vehicles counted for 44,933 deaths and drowning counted for 3,308 deaths during that same year.

In fact, the National Safety Council's Injury Facts 2004 shows a person is five times more likely to accidentally die from choking than a firearm.

Shooting sports in general are safer than most activities and hunters are conscientious about safety. Hunters took the lead in promoting hunting and firearms safety through hunter education courses and the results have been a steady decrease in hunter and firearm incidents.

"Hunters are concerned and responsible citizens, and they're committed to continuing the downward trend in hunting accidents," said Doug Painter, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. "Firearms accidents overall have been declining for many years and now are at the lowest level in the history of record keeping, thanks to the safety awareness programs of many different organizations."

Hunting is safer than most spectator sports that many people consider safe such as football, baseball and basketball.

Injuries per 100 participants:
Football - 18.8
Baseball - 5.8
Basketball - 7.6
Hunting - 1.3

For more information about the National Wild Turkey Federation and its conservation efforts, please visit their website at www.nwtf.org.